Road re-think
Something urgently needs to be done about the excessive increase in traffic speeding through Wooler Street before someone is badly injured or, God forbid, killed.
If that sounds over-dramatic, so be it. Driving down a one-way street, it appears some motorists, especially white van man, thinks it’s ok to increase their speed up to a dangerous level.
Some of these idiots could easily over-take Lewis Hamilton given the chance. At the same time there has also been an excess in the volume of traffic, the reason being it’s only turning between Albany Road and Wadding Street to reach the Old Kent Road, via East Street, and it’s been this way for far too long.
Add to this the demolition of the Aylesbury Estate (at one end of Wooler Street), has begun in earnest, so we now have the addition of dumper trucks etc, joining in the traffic flow.
The two existing speed humps in Wooler Street have outlived their usefulness, possibly through wear and tear, being flat and level with the road. They now offer no calming effect at all.
To prove how dangerous Wooler Street has become, a traffic census should be undertaken (or traffic lights installed), and findings quickly acted upon.
In view of the Aylesbury housing blocks being ‘repositioned’, now is the time for a re-think on all its approach roads.
Reg O’Donoghue, Walworth
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Height restrictions needed on buildings
I want to bring to readers’ attention how concerned Southwark residents should be about the council’s plans to remove all height restrictions in the Southwark plan.
This will leave developers salivating over the prospect of building skyscrapers on every plot of land they can get their hands on, ruining communities and blighting our residential streets.
The great fear is that a group of developers could easily get together and draw up “The high rise vision for Southwark” persuading the council to use its powers of compulsory purchase to buy up townhouses and low rise developments, paying homeowners a fraction of what their homes are worth, to make millions from building thousands of high rise flats for private sale or rent.
It will be like Aylesbury all over again, but this time none of us will be safe.
Richard Llewellyn-Davies, Camberwell
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More space for bikes for London Bridge
After the terrible events at Westminster and London Bridge it is only right that security measures are stepped up to protect the public and prevent further atrocities.
The new security barriers on London’s bridges – while welcome – do need to be rethought.
We can’t risk creating new dangers for Londoners going about their daily business by making cyclists vulnerable – they now can’t get off the road and out of the way of motor traffic quickly if something as simple as a puncture happens.
Surely the Met and TfL can look again and reposition the barriers so they take up less space from bike lanes and are less of a hazard for people just trying to get around.
Caroline Russell, Green Party Member of the London Assembly
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Surgery closure
This has been handled appallingly by the CCG (5,000 patients given three weeks to find new surgery, News, June 29).
Contrary to what the CCG claims, patients were not notified that the practice was closing.
We were just told that we had to register with another practice by 30th June – closing the practice was not mentioned in the letter.
No advice was given regarding patients currently being treated, those who had appointments booked, nor where they were waiting for results.
What’s more, the receptionists were not give any info in order to advise concerned patients.
Peter Suthers, Bermondsey
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Be kidney aware
I’m writing to let your readers know that right now in Greater London there are 1,085 people currently waiting for a kidney transplant, and every single day in the UK one person will die whilst waiting for their kidney. This has to change.
Most people don’t want to think about their kidneys, but the reality is that one in eight people will develop Chronic Kidney Disease which can affect their general health and may ultimately mean they might need dialysis or a transplant in order to stay alive.
The average time waiting for a kidney on the transplant list is three years and there are almost 30,000 people on dialysis in the UK, a treatment that leaves patients hooked up to machines for hours at a time for several days every week, which has a knock-on impact on their ability to study, work, socialise and ultimately live their lives to the full. Kidney patients constantly tell us that greater awareness of kidney disease and the impact it can have on their lives would be life-changing for them, which is why we’re calling on your readers to become kidney aware by visiting www.kidneycareuk.org.
We are here to ensure that no-one in Greater London has to face kidney disease alone.
Paddy Tabor MVO, Chief Executive, Kidney Care UK